Made in Kauai: Homegrown products beckon from Hawaii's Garden Isle

In Hawaiian, "waialeale" means "overflowing water." It's therefore the perfect name for Mount Waialeale, smack dab in the middle of Kauai, since it is one of the wettest places on Earth.

The annual average of 450 inches of rain — it's far, far less elsewhere on Kauai — helps explain the island's dramatic waterfalls and its nickname: the Garden Isle.

"Everything grows here," chocolate farmer Tony Lydgate observed, crediting not only the abundant water, but some of the most fertile soil on the planet too.

Kauai's list of crops seems endless. Beyond cacao, the plant from which chocolate comes, everything from coffee to coconuts and guava to koa trees flourishes. They're the sources of locally made products ranging from delicious jams to stunning ukuleles. Tourists who dare to detour from their beachfront resorts can experience this natural bounty while snagging souvenirs directly from the makers instead of a hotel gift shop. (Though many of these products are available online, too.)

Koloa Rum Co.

At Koloa Rum's Company Store near Lihue, visitors can buy various types of rum after a free sampling. Bob Gunter, CEO and president, says he uses locally grown sugar, not cheaper molasses, in his rum. “It’s important to me to preserve the heritage of the sugar industry in Hawaii,” Gunter said.

At Koloa Rum's Company Store near Lihue, visitors can buy various types of rum after a free sampling. Bob Gunter, CEO and president, says he uses locally grown sugar, not cheaper molasses, in his rum. “It’s important to me to preserve the heritage of the sugar industry in Hawaii,” Gunter said. (Koloa Rum Co.)

Spirited beverage: Outside Bob Gunter's office at the Koloa Rum Co., a few stalks of hardy sugar cane stand as silent sentries, reminders of a once-prolific crop that has almost completely disappeared. In nearby Old Koloa Town, a sturdy chimney is all that remains of the mill from a once-thriving, 19th-century sugar plantation.

While it's now cheaper to produce sugar elsewhere in the world, Gunter, Koloa Rum's CEO and president, is determined to use locally grown sugar, not cheaper molasses, in his rum.

"Sugar produces a smoother, cleaner tasting distillate," he said, just a few feet from where workers were busy labeling bottles. At his Koloa Rum Company Store in Lihue, visitors learn about the distilling process while enjoying various rums in the tasting room. On a December afternoon, employee Nikki Munroe served free samples of coconut, coffee, dark and spice rums while explaining the importance of both the naturally filtered rainwater and the sugar. (A 750-milliliter bottle of rum starts at $29.95, and a gift box of five mini-bottles is $24.50 in the gift shop.)

"It creates a different taste," she said. "A lot of people think it's lighter and sweeter. That's why they like our rum."

Steelgrass Farm

A ripe pod of cacao, which contains the beans from which chocolate is made, is cut from a tree in Tony Lydgate's Kauai orchard.

A ripe pod of cacao, which contains the beans from which chocolate is made, is cut from a tree in Tony Lydgate's Kauai orchard. (Steelgrass Farm)

Fruits of her labor: At a Saturday farmers market, also in Lihue, Aletha Thomas mused as she sold her wares at the Monkeypod Jam stall.

"This is where it all began, right here," she recalled. Her products have grown so popular over the years that, in November, she opened a retail shop in Kalaheo, along the road leading to Waimea Canyon.

"Our fruit is 100 percent sourced on Kauai," she said. "If I can't find it, I'm not making it."

Visitors are welcome to watch as her small staff cooks the various treats in copper vats. On the shelves, the selection includes lilikoi (passion fruit) curd, spiced tomato jam, star fruit ginger jelly and wild guava butter. Each 6-ounce jar costs about $12-$13.

"Most of our guava comes from 4-H kids. They grow it and sell it for fundraising," she said.

Farmers from across Kauai bring their produce to Thomas' back door. She buys from about 50 growers. For some of them, the sales literally keep food on the table.

"It's so gratifying," she said with a warm smile.

Chocolate fix: Sustainable agriculture is also important to Tony Lydgate, whose Steelgrass Farm, in the hills above Kapaa, is the source of superior-grade chocolate.

During a three-hour tour ($75), guests learn how cacao is grown and how cocoa is then extracted from fermented beans. The tour includes a blind taste test of a dozen of the world's finest chocolates, his included.

Lydgate sells all of those chocolates. A three-ounce bar of Steel Farm's milk chocolate costs $12, while the same-size bar of dark is $20.

"It's a niche market," he acknowledged. "Chocolate is a fine product just like wine."

Lydgate produces only about 1,000 bars a year. "This is the rarest chocolate in the world, because all of the beans for the bars come from an orchard of 200 trees," he explained.

Message on a coconut: While Naomi Young earns her living growing mangoes near the village of Anahola, it was the coconuts that fall from her palm trees that inspired her to create a new hobby — coconut decorating — five years ago.

At a stall at Lihue's Luau Kalamaku and online, Young sells what she calls "coconut postcards." On the shells, she paints various designs such as palm trees, flowers and seascapes. With space for an address and a brief message, the coconuts are one of Kauai's most unique gifts. The $40 price includes shipping by Priority Mail.

Raymond Rapozo photo

Raymond Rapozo teaches the tradition of making ukuleles to a group of Kauai high school students. His Island Ukulele company uses fallen timber from the island's koa trees to craft the instruments. Rapozo noted that in addition to their rich color and grain, koa “ukes” have a unique, bright sound.

Raymond Rapozo teaches the tradition of making ukuleles to a group of Kauai high school students. His Island Ukulele company uses fallen timber from the island's koa trees to craft the instruments. Rapozo noted that in addition to their rich color and grain, koa “ukes” have a unique, bright sound. (Raymond Rapozo photo)

Making music: Harvesting live koa trees is big no-no on Kauai, but island native Raymond Rapozo has the needed permit to gather fallen timber, with which he handcrafts ukuleles, the musical instrument so often associated with Hawaii. Potential buyers can watch as Rapozo, owner of Island Ukulele, shapes the wood in his Kealia workshop.

Rapozo noted that in addition to its rich color and grain, koa "ukes" have a unique, bright sound. He finishes the instruments with inlays of abalone shell or mother-of-pearl. His ukuleles start at $650.

Retail manager Darla Domingo explained that customers often ask for that, thinking Kona is a type of coffee. In fact, it is coffee grown in the Kona region of the Big Island of Hawaii, not on Kauai.

During a free walking tour of the coffee farm, visitors learn that the company grows five varieties, including Blue Mountain, its best seller, and Yellow Catuai, whose beans turn yellow, instead of the usual red, as they ripen. (Prices on its website start at $11 for a 10-ounce package.)

Kauai Coffee has 4 million plants on what was once a sugar plantation, before cane all but vanished.

A few miles from his rum distillery, Bob Gunter has planted seven acres of cane. At a different site, more planting is planned for 2016 as he reclaims the former sugar plantation in Old Koloa Town.

"It's important to me to preserve the heritage of the sugar industry in Hawaii," he said.

A version of this article appeared in print on January 24, 2016, in the Travel section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Made in KAUAI - Homegrown products beckon from Hawaii's Garden Isle" —
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